“EU pushes for sea patrols in wake of migrant shipwreck,” from France 24:

A shipwreck off Lampedusa that killed hundreds of African asylum seekers is set to dominate talks Tuesday between EU internal affairs ministers, with the EU Commission expected to push for maritime patrols to cope with the constant flood of refugees arriving on Europe’s shores.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said before the meeting that she would propose “a big Frontex operation right across the Mediterranean, from Cyprus to Spain, for a big save and rescue operation”.

Frontex is the EU agency set up in 2004 to halt illegal immigration into Europe. Based in Warsaw, it is reported to have saved 16,000 lives in the Mediterranean over the last two years. But due to budget cuts across Europe, its budget has fallen from €118 million ($160 million) in 2011 to €90 million in 2012 and down to €85 this year…